Thursday, March 12, 2020

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: In Black and White by Maryann Diorio

About the Book

Book: In Black and White
Author: Maryann Diorio
Genre: New Adult
Release Date: November 1, 2019

A white woman. A black man. And their forbidden love.

Can endurance and faith sustain the love between a white woman and a black man, threatened by rejection, guilt, and racial injustice? Can love alone reconcile their starkly different worlds, lighting the way to a bright future together?

When graduate student, Tori Pendola, a white American woman, and Ghanaian exchange student, Jebuni Kalitsi, heir to his tribe’s chieftaincy, fall deeply in love, they must face not only their own inner demons of rejection and guilt, but also the demons of societal hatred bent on destroying their relationship. Will their love survive the cruel and bitter attacks against them, or will hatred and prejudice gain the upper hand?

In Black and White is a deeply moving story of the power of God’s love to restore all that is broken in our lives.

Click here to get your copy.

My Thoughts:

Love is a beautiful entity- and racism is a hideous monster. When Tori and Jeb meet at an art show, they start on a path that shows them the truth of both realities. The readers share their dual path, as we witness the whirlwind love story between two graduate students, one a white American girl struggling with feeling unwanted, and the other a black Ghanian boy who is struggling with guilt. But we also witness the terrible racism they face as complete strangers take offense at their relationship, and their own families disapprove.

Will love surmount all? Will he still be able to become chief of his village if he marries an outsider? And will they both be able to earn the degrees they worked so hard to earn? Read to find out, but be ready for a rollercoaster.

I received a copy of this novel from the author. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Jes

About the Author

Dr. MaryAnn Diorio is an award-winning author of compelling, page-turning fiction that deals with the deepest issues of the human heart. She is the author of the popular trilogy titled THE ITALIAN CHRONICLES, set in 19th-century Sicily. MaryAnn holds the PhD in French with a concentration in Comparative Literature. She is also a Certified Life Coach and a Licensed Minister. MaryAnn and her husband Dom, a retired ER physician, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They are the blessed parents of two wonderful adult daughters, a very smart son-in-law, and six rambunctious grandchildren. When not writing, MaryAnn enjoys painting, playing the piano, and making up silly songs with her grandchildren. You can learn more about MaryAnn and her writing at https://www.maryanndiorio .com

More from MaryAnn

Greetings, awesome readers and friends! It’s great to have you with me on this tour. I trust you’ll be blessed and have lots of fun.

We writers are a strange breed. While we know what we are writing, we often don’t fully understand what we have written. Does that make sense? If not, let me explain.

Before I started writing In Black and White, I prayed. And I prayed hard. The idea for my story came to me back in the 1990s. Yes. You read that right! But it first came to me as a seed that the Lord planted in my heart. The seed would need time to grow, sprout, and blossom. So, back in the 90s, the Lord told me it wasn’t time to write my story yet.

So, I watered and waited as the seed began to do its thing. At the beginning of 2018, the Lord said, “It’s time.” And I instantly knew what He meant. It was time to start writing In Black and White.

So, in January of 2018, I started writing In Black and White. For almost two years, I wrote. The story took many twists and turns and was finally completed in August of 2019.

I mentioned earlier that we writers don’t often fully understand what we have written. What do I mean? I mean that often, for me, it is after I write the story that I recognize the theme of the story.

It’s like this: A seed doesn’t really understand what its Maker is doing. It just follows the plan. When I write, I don’t fully understand what Holy Spirit is doing. I just follow His lead.

Amazingly, the theme that I recognized in my latest novel is the same theme that appears in virtually all of my fiction. What is that theme? It’s forgiveness.

It seems as though the message of forgiveness is the spiritual trademark of my fiction. Why? Perhaps because I’ve had to do a lot of forgiving during my life—and a lot of asking for forgiveness.

Forgiveness is the reason Jesus came to earth. He died to forgive us. If we want to be like Him, we, too, need to forgive.

So, as you read my story, I pray that it will stir you to forgive anyone and everyone in your life who has hurt you in any way. And, if need be, I pray that my story will encourage you to ask forgiveness of those whom you have hurt.

Our heavenly Father is the Great Forgiver, May we become like Him by making forgiveness the theme of our lives.

With love and blessings,

MaryAnn Diorio

Recipe for Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs from MaryAnn Diorio’s novel, In Black and White. This is my late Italian mother’s recipe, straight from Italy.

Enza’s Authentic Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

MEATBALLS

1 lb. ground meat (beef, veal, pork, turkey, or chicken, or a mixture of two or all three in any proportion)
1 large egg (not beaten)
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped (preferably the flat Italian type, but the curly kind will do)
2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped
¹/₈ teaspoon fresh ground pepper (peppercorns ground in peppermill)
Salt to taste (Use ¹/₈ teaspoon for first time making this recipe and adjust, if needed, next time.)
1 ¹/₂ tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon plain breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon milk (whole, 2% or fat-free)

Prepare a baking pan (or oven-proof dish) by coating it lightly with any kind of olive oil.
Set oven on “bake” and temperature at 350º.
Place all recipe ingredients in large bowl.
With clean hands, mix all ingredients together until blended.
Fill ¹/₂cup measuring cup with blended meat mixture ragù.
Remove meat mixture from ¹/₂cup and roll mixture gently between palms of hands until meatball is shaped.
Place meatballs on oil-coated baking pan.
Continue measuring meat mixture, shaping it into meatballs and placing meatballs on oil-coated baking pan. NOTE: BE SURE TO LEAVE SPACE AROUND EACH MEATBALL TO ENSURE EVEN COOKING.

Bake meatballs for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of meatball comes out clean.

NOTE: Any drippings left in pan may be used as basis for homemade pasta sauce (“ragù” or “gravy”). If so desired, cool drippings, place in freezer-proof container, label contents of container, and freeze.

SPAGHETTI